Japanese word

生死

Pronunciation

Romajiseishi

Meaning

  • nounlife or death

Example

その判断が生死を分けます。so no han dan ga sei shi o wa ke ma su

That decision determines life or death.

Illustration for 生死 (life or death)

More examples

救助隊は乗客の生死を確認しています。kyū jo tai wa jō kyaku no sei shi o kaku nin shi te i ma su

The rescue team is checking whether the passengers are alive or dead.

Core concept

Describes a situation as standing between continued life and death, with an outcome that can go either way.

Common phrases

  • 生死を分けるsei shi o wa ke ru

    determine life or death

  • 生死に関わるsei shi ni kaka wa ru

    involve life or death

Similar words

生き死にikishini: Whether a person or living thing remains alive or dies, expressed in an everyday style.
死活shikatsu: Survival or failure in a situation where the result determines whether something can continue.

Definition in Japanese

命が助かるか死ぬかという、重大な分かれ目。inochi ga tasu ka ru ka shi nu ka to i u jū dai na wa ka re me

Word origin

As a Sino-Japanese compound, 生 (sei, "life") and 死 (shi, "death") combine in 生死 (seishi, "life or death") to place two opposite states side by side.

Usage tips

  • 生死 (seishi) often appears in formal descriptions of decisive outcomes, where English uses life-or-death as an adjective as well as life or death as a noun phrase.

Other meanings

  • life and deathnoun

Related words

  • 生死観seishikanview of life and deathnoun

Word lists with this word